LeBron James is still giving the 76ers a reminder they can’t afford to ignore: even in a reduced scoring role, he can flip a game when he decides to turn it up.
Philadelphia has opened the season with only two losses, and the starting five has been loaded with enough talent to make the rest of the league search for answers. But the offense is still finding its shape, and the way James has been used says plenty about that. He has slid into more of a setup role, which makes sense on a roster with so many scorers around him.
That shift has come with a dramatic drop in his scoring numbers. James is averaging just 15.6 points per game, a career-low.
Still, the idea that he’s been reduced to a pure facilitator doesn’t hold up when the moment calls for more. In the team’s latest win over the Bulls, he posted a season-high 22 points and hit eight of his 16 shots from the field.
That performance is a useful nudge for Philadelphia. James has long been one of the league’s best passers, and he can run the offense in the half-court or push the pace in transition.
But his scoring shouldn’t be treated like an afterthought. The 76ers would do well to keep him involved as a secondary scoring threat, not just a table-setter.
When James is passive as a scorer, defenses can settle in. When he starts hunting his own offense, everything changes. Opponents have to stay glued to him, and that creates more room for the rest of the attack, even if his first instinct is to pass.
He showed in last season’s playoffs that he can still score at an elite level. Philadelphia hasn’t needed that version of him every night, but if the offense is going to keep growing, there’s a strong case for keeping that weapon in play. Teams still respect him for a reason.
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Through nine games with Boston, George has been productive enough to remind everyone why his move mattered in the first place, giving the Celtics scoring, playmaking and activity on both ends. For Sixers fans, the return was always going to stir up more than a routine regular-season matchup, because it reopened a breakup that still lingers in the background every time he steps onto the floor in Philadelphia. [Read more 🡒]